11,009 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Bought by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors opened a new VeriSign position, purchasing 11,009 shares worth about $3.1 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.9% of the stock.
• VeriSign’s latest quarter delivered revenue of $443 million, above estimates and up 5.7% year over year, but earnings per share of $2.35 fell short of the $2.46 consensus.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with a $352 average price target. VeriSign also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield.

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,009 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,105,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $2,116,154,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $172,641,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $145,362,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,420,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total transaction of $960,597.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 394,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,959,300.43. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,356 shares of company stock valued at $13,410,628. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $352.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $305.84 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $324.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $298.40 and its 200 day moving average is $273.24.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 34.84%.

VeriSign Profile

VeriSign, Inc operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals.

The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet's naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.

Founded in 1995, VeriSign began as a provider of digital certificate services before focusing its business on domain-name registry operations.

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